Infrared spectroscopy technique could help identify virus infections earlier on

When a virus infects a new host, it can incubate for days before manifesting in the body. For this reason, it is often difficult to detect certain types of viruses early on. Peranantham et al. present a technique that may help detect infections during this incubation period using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR).

Viruses are encased in unique coats of proteins. Understanding how these proteins and the proteins of their opposing antibodies interact with each other can help improve diagnostic techniques. In the past, researchers have characterized protein interactions using labeling methods such as staining, fluorescence, and radioactive coding, but these methods are complicated and not directly quantitative.

Using ATR-FTIR together with spectral simulations, the authors were able to perform direct qualitative and quantitative characterization and cross validation of immuno-specific systems at the molecular level.

They tested their technique on a staphylococcal protein found in rabbits, chickens and cows. They were able to characterize the adsorption behavior of the proteins, including the role of the staphylococcal protein in orienting the adsorbed immunoglobulin and stabilizing the adsorbed system on a polystyrene surface. They were also able to determine the function of bovine serum albumin as blocking reagent and promoter of specific and selective binding, as well as the bioactivity conserved accommodation of staphylococcal protein on polystyrene surfaces.

“We can detect very low levels of antibodies with this technique,” said author Yekkoni Lakshmanan Jeyachandran. “This will allow us to detect infections much earlier for any type of virus.”

The proof-of-concept results will allow for further investigation with the technique to study more complex systems of immune-detections, particularly for highly sensitive and rapid diagnostics.

Source: “Label-free monitoring of immuno-specific interactions of adsorbed multilayer of proteins,” by Pazhanisami Peranantham, Kadalore Ramalingam Gopi, Yekkoni Lakshmanan Jeyachandran, Biointerphases (2021). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0000669 .